All I Know of Love
by lightblue-Nymphadora
Summary: Tonks is having a really hard time with this whole relationship business. Rated for mentions of slash, femslash, violence and mature situations. No flames, por favor! Reviews are much appreciated.
1. The Breakup

**_LbN: As I said before, this one slaughtered all the others on the poll. I know some of you picked it because it came from "The Harry Potter Game." :) That's cool, I'm super excited for it. I will be tweaking a couple of things, however, to make it a bit less incestuous. Happy reading!_**

Tonks sat up in bed, frowning. She heard someone, presumably her boyfriend, walking toward the room. She flicked the lights on with a wave of her wand and waited.

A moment later, Harry walked in and dropped his Auror kit by the door. "Oh," he said. "I didn't expect you to be awake."

"Most people aren't awake at three in the morning," Tonks conceded. "Why do you even bother turning up this late?"

"I told you I'd come by," Harry said, shrugging.

"I'd rather you came by first, and not after you visit your other lover."

"Stop being so paranoi—"

"Shut up, Harry," Tonks said in a tired voice. "Just…go home, will you?"

"I had to wor—"

"No you didn't. Kingsley told me he gave you the weekend off, so don't bother to lie. Out of curiosity, who is it?"

Harry stood still in the doorway.

Tonks smirked. She knew he was debating telling her the truth. "You're cheating on me. You're caught. Who is it?"

"How do you know I'm cheating?" Harry asked in a small, petulant voice.

"For the past five months, you've only kissed me on the cheek. You're agitated all the time, and it's not a stressful time in our department, so it's probably not about work. You don't want sex anymore, and that's seriously odd for you. You avoid me at work. We haven't been on a real date in ages…Shall I continue? Or do you want to tell me now?"

"Dmmffrrghh…" Harry muttered.

"What?"

"Draco. Malfoy."

"MY COUSIN?" Tonks yelped. She wasn't completely surprised that Harry'd switched teams again, so to speak, but she hadn't been expecting that. It was all so incestuous….

"Yeah," Harry said defiantly. "He's—"

"I don't want to know," Tonks said, waving both her hands in front of her and shaking her head. "Really, I don't. Just leave."

Harry gazed at her for another moment before grabbing his bag and leaving. He slammed the door behind him.

Tonks sat fuming. Malfoy? That poncy mummy's boy? Was Harry serious? He could take a flying fucking leap, as far as Tonks was concerned. She got out of bed and walked down the hall to her training room. Not bothering to turn the lights on (she'd practiced in the dark many times before), she began throwing hexes and curses at the targets….

**_LbN: Hope you liked the intro! Send reviews!_**


	2. Cheering Up

**All I Know of Love**

The first thing Tonks noticed when she awoke the next morning was the general smell of crispiness. This was partly from the fact that she'd demolished about half of the targets in the training room, and partly from the fact that Fred was in her kitchen frying bacon. She knew it was Fred. Only he whistled while cooking, and George would've moved her back to bed, rather than moving three blankets and a pillow to her. Getting up, she surveyed the damage. Six targets lay in cinders in different areas of the room. The ones that were left had severe scorch marks on them, to the point where the 3Ws logo couldn't be read any longer. She stretched as she made her way to the front of the flat. When she got to the kitchen, Fred was serving up food onto two plates.

"Morning, sunshine," he said, pushing one of the plates toward her.

"Shut up," Tonks said, sitting down to eat. "When did you get here?"

"Around five o'clock. We heard from Ron, who heard from Hermione, who heard from Ginny, who heard from the blond ferret himself."

"Blo'y 'ell," Tonks said through a mouthful of egg. She swallowed and continued, "It happened at three in the morning? How the hell does everyone know already?"

"Ginny was on the night shift at St. Mungo's. Malfoy went by to rant."

"Rant? What's _he _pissed about?"

"Well, he was ranting about Harry not leaving you, but he got Harry's Patronus saying he had. So then he was gloating." Fred shrugged, taking a bite of toast. "Anyway, Ginny wasn't having it and told him to fuck off. Not in those words, I'm sure, but he left and she called Hermione to tell her to check on you. Hermione and Ron couldn't leave, 'cause the twins are sick, so Ron called me and George. And, as your best friend, I figured I should stop by uninvited. George would've come too, but we're developing something that…er…needs adult supervision, shall we say? He wanted to let Katie sleep, so I'm here to comfort you alone."

"Dear god…."

"So, in store for today—"

"Fred," Tonks said. "I don't want to do anything today. Nothing that requires me to get off the couch, at least."

"Too bad," Fred told her as he cut up his tomatoes and mixed them into his eggs. "We're not going to let you stew in sadness, or rage, over Harry's cheating arse. We're going shopping, then we'll stop by 3Ws so you can pick up some new targets."

"You know, you're my favorite girlfriend," Tonks smirked, hair turning pink around the edges.

Fred stuck his tongue out at her. "It gets better. We're going to Lee's club tonight."

"Oh for—"

"Don't give me that! You haven't been in ages. I'm not saying you have to go on the rebound or anything. I just want you to have a good time, nothing to worry about."

"Why do I have the feeling you aren't going to let this go?"

"Because I'm not."

Tonks shook her head, torn between irritation at the redhead and wanting to hug him. "Fine," she said. "I'm taking a long shower though."

"Sore from demolishing your house?" Fred asked, chuckling.

"Shut up."

* * *

Tonks zipped her jacket up and pulled the hood over her head. "What are we shopping for?" she asked Fred.

"I need new jeans. You need new everything," he said, grinning at her.

"Hey now," Tonks said. "No need to mock the outfits."

"I'm not mocking. The neo-gothic look works for you. I'm just saying, you need some stuff that doesn't have holes in it."

Tonks smiled and shook her head as they headed into the first store….

* * *

Three hours later, they'd finished shopping and were heading into the twins' shop. Tonks set her bags behind the counter and followed Fred to the back of the store. As they walked into the Dark Defense section, an odd rattling noise came from upstairs. Tonks glanced at the ceiling and asked, "That your new project?"

"Er…yeah. Have a look around while I go make sure George is alright."

Tonks chuckled and began selecting the targets she wanted. She picked three of the revolving ones, and was looking at the semi-visible ones when the twins came bounding back down the stairs. "Everything alright?"

"Not to worry," George said gravely. His right eyebrow was smoking and he had a bruise on his cheek. "Just a little mistake."

"Thought it needed constant supervision," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"We managed to subdue it," Fred told her.

"Are you two going to tell me what it is so we can stop talking in code?"

"No," both of them said.

"Fine," Tonks laughed.

"How are you?" George asked.

Tonks shrugged and picked up another target. "I'm okay, I guess. Haven't really thought about it."

"You and Fred going to visit Lee tonight?"

"He's making me."

"Good. Can't have you wallowing in your misery, can we?"

"Why do the pair of you torment me so?" Tonks asked, but she was laughing.

"What are friends for?" Fred countered. "Anyway, like I said, you haven't been in forever. You need to get out, dust off those flirting skills, and have a good time for once."

"Katie and I might join you," George said, taking some off the items from Tonks.

"Wonderful, I'll be fifth wheeling it," Tonks said as they walked to the front of the store. "You and Katie, Fred and Lee, and then me."

"LEE AND I ARE NOT DATING!" Fred yelled from the other room. The other two laughed.

"Do you not want to go?" George asked seriously.

"Nah," Tonks said, dumping her new targets onto the counter. She looked around as a family walked into the store. "I love going out. I just thought I'd have some time to mope before you guys dragged me out of it."

"Of course not," George said, grinning at her.

"I'm going to get this stuff home," Tonks said. "_Accio bags_!" Her earlier purchases came zooming towards her. "What's the plan for tonight?"

"No idea. Oi! Fred!" George called.

His twin came in carrying some Skiving Snackboxes. "What's up?" he asked, restocking the shelf.

"What're we doing tonight?" Tonks asked.

"Meet up here at 9:30?" Fred said.

"Right," Tonks said, nodding. "I'll see you guys then."


	3. The Hook Up

**All I Know of Love**

Tonks could feel her hair changing colors as the adrenaline rushed through her. This hadn't been such a bad idea! As she danced with…whoever this blonde was in front of her, she knew that thought was the beer thinking for her. The blonde grabbed her hand and they made their way over to the bar. It was dark, and the flashing red and green lights didn't allow Tonks to see her properly. When the girl spoke, however, Tonks recognized the voice immediately.

"Luna?" she asked.

"I thought it was you, Tonks," Luna said above the noise. "What are you drinking?"

"Just water, thanks," Tonks said.

"Ahh, come on," Luna said. "You're not even slurring or giggling yet! You can afford another drink."

Tonks grinned. "Fine then. Jelly Baby with extra cranberry."

One drink turned into three and an hour later, Tonks and Luna were best friends. They'd talked about everything. The Wyrd Sisters reunion tour, Harry dumping Tonks, Luna's research into ancient Wizarding myths, if Ireland would go to the World Cup this season, pears vs. cranberries for jam, who would win first: Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff for the Hogwarts house cup, etc. Tonks was just drunk enough to know she was drunk, and waved the waiter over to their booth. "Two waters. Thanks," she said.

"What do you call these?" Luna asked with a hiccup. "Jelly Babies?"

"Yeah. Good huh? Fred, no George, got me into them."

The waiter brought to glasses of water to them. After paying him, Tonks downed her water.

Luna, drinking hers more slowly, glanced at Tonks. "Hey," she said. "You want to get out of here?"

"Sure," Tonks said.

"Great!" Luna took her hand and the pair of them made their way out of the club. Fifteen minutes later, the two of them were walking into Luna's flat. Both of them were giggling now. "Come on, my room's back here," Luna told her. She wasn't wasting any time.

Tonks, even in her fuzzy state, hadn't expected anything else. She followed Luna to the room in the back of the flat. It was decorated in pale blues and yellows, which made Tonks feel a bit like a creeper. It was way too innocent a room for this kind of thing.

"Hold on a moment," Luna said. She walked over to a door and pushed it open.

Tonks' mouth dropped open. It looked as if Luna had purchased the entire stock of the Wizard's Alternative Playthings catalogue. Somehow, the fact that her companion was a closeted kink didn't surprise her. She also didn't feel like a creeper anymore…

* * *

Tonks blinked a few times, trying to rid herself of her headache. The sunlight streaming through the curtains was making her eyes water. Groaning, she sat up. "Fuck," she said.

"Again?" Luna said.

Without looking at her, Tonks knew she was smirking. "I need water."

"Bathroom's on the left. Don't forget, you said you'd make breakfast for me."

"Did I?" Tonks asked, turning back to the bed. "Oh. Alright." She stumbled out to the bathroom.

When she returned to the bedroom a few minutes later, two glasses of water in hand, Luna had helpfully shut the curtains. "Here," Tonks whispered, handing her one of the glasses. "How about lunch instead of breakfast?"

"Fine. Get back in bed, you look like hell."

"I feel like it," Tonks mumbled. She crawled back into bed, but before she could pass out again a voice cut through the quiet room.

"Tonks, where the hell are you?" Fred's voice said.

Tonks shot up in bed, her headache worsening, and looked around. Fred's Patronus was near the door. She leaned over the edge of the bed and pulled her wand from her discarded jeans. She shot her Patronus into the air and fell back against the pillows. She felt Luna cuddle up to her. "Er…Luna? Look, I…"

"Are you about to give me the I-Just-Got-Out-Of-A-Relationship-And-Don't-Want-To-Start-Anything-Serious speech?"

"Er…"

"Save it till we're not hungover."

* * *

Tonks flipped another pancake onto the plate and passed it to Luna.

Luna sat at the bar and dug in. She looked up at Tonks after a moment. "Do you want to do something today?"

"Luna…."

"I know. This won't be serious. I won't get clingy."

Tonks seriously doubted this.

"I want to get to know you. We'll just have fun," Luna continued. "Let's go somewhere tonight. No drinking this time; I want to remember what we talk about." She smiled sweetly at Tonks.

Tonks was quiet for a moment. She took a bite of her pancake to give herself time to think. "Fine," she said, swallowing. "Dinner at six?"

"Sure!" Luna said, sounding far too perky to be coming off a hangover.

"Right, I'll swing back by here and pick you up," Tonks said, finishing off her lunch. "Er…what's this place called?"

"Luna's Flat," Luna said. "Easy to remember."

"Yeah. I'll see you later then." Tonks rinsed her plate and gave Luna a hug before letting herself out of the flat. "This is going to be weird," she muttered to herself, before Disapparating. She Apparated in front of Fred and George's shop and walked in. Immediately, there were catcalls and whistling. "I hate you both," she said, grinning.

"We know we said to go have fun, but hell woman!" George said, laughing. The shop was empty that day except for him and Fred. They were taking inventory, so Tonks sat on the counter to talk with them.

"Yeah, well…" she said, shrugging. "I'm going to dinner with her tonight."

The twins looked at her oddly. "Worked fast, didn't you?" Fred asked.

"Well she did," Tonks said. "She says she wants to get to know me."

"She didn't do that last night?" George asked with a grin.

"Very funny."

"I think it'll be good for you," Fred said. "Rebounding's not the best of plans, but it might get you through the bad time."

"Let's hope so," Tonks said.


	4. Out Tonight

**_LbN: Hello! Back w/ updates. Hope you enjoy :)_**

Tonks straightened her tie, and then undid the knot and tossed it behind her. This added to the steadily growing pile of clothes on her closet floor. It wasn't fair. She shouldn't be this nervous about her date. She'd already slept with Luna, was her outfit really going to make a difference?

"You know what I think?" Fred asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"No, and I don't want to right now," Tonks said, pulling another shirt from the hanger.

"I think you're test running," Fred said, ignoring her. "You're afraid to ask out the girl you really fancy, so you're dating Luna to see if you'll…appeal to the type, so to speak."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Same age, same sense of humor, same body type, same line of work…." Fred said. "You know I'm right."

"Look, even if there was some other mysterious girl that I wanted, that doesn't mean I don't like Luna."

"I know you do. But she's not the one you want."

Tonks ignored that last statement, pulling a vest over her white shirt. She picked a few specks of lint off of it and stared at herself in the mirror.

"Wear the blue button down with the dark skinny jeans," Fred said.

"You're my favorite girlfriend," Tonks said, grinning at him and pulling the shirt in question out of the pile.

"I have to go meet George and Lee for a charity event. Swing by the shop tomorrow and I'll let you raid our gift bags."

Tonks laughed as he hugged her. "Wotcher. Say hi to them for me."

"I will."

Tonks went back to getting ready. She heard him let himself out of the flat as she morphed her hair. Long and pink, short and purple, spiky and blue…that would work. Grabbing her wand off the bathroom counter, she checked her watch. On time for once, that was new. She ran a hand through her hair nervously, Fred's words ringing in her head. He was right, of course, but it didn't matter. She had a date tonight, and thinking about another girl would be a dick move. She ran a hand through her hair again and looked around for her wallet.

Fifteen minutes later she was knocking on Luna's door. "Wotcher," she smiled when the blonde answered the door.

"Hey Tonks!" Luna said. She grabbed her cloak off of a hook next to the door and joined the metamorphmagus in the hall. "Where are we going?"

"I thought we could have dinner at Brink," Tonks said.

Brink was one of Tonks's favorite restaurants. It was one of the places in Lee's web of entertainment power, and lived up to the hype. The outside looked like any of the Muggle restaurants that surrounded it, but the inside was heavy on the magic as Tonks liked to say. Floating blue and green orbs lit the contemporary-decorated rooms. The restaurant itself was sectioned off into four parts, each part specializing in a certain type of food. Tonks and Luna followed their hostess into the third room and sat at a small table near the back.

"I've never been here before," Luna said, looking at her green menu. "What's good?"

"Everything," Tonks said, grinning. "But I usually get the Greek Chicken Pasta. The Shrimp Alfredo and Crab Stuffed Shells are good too."

They ordered and talked as they waited for their food. Tonks was having difficulty keeping up. Luna switched from subject to subject like crazy. Tonks found it was kind of fun to try and find the logic in some of the switches of topic. Usually, there wasn't any. In the twenty minute span of them waiting for their dinner, they'd discussed three different Quidditch teams, Luna's job, Tonks's job, the Werewolf Protection Act that was just passed, the new professors that were starting at Hogwarts next term, and dental floss. Tonks had no idea how they'd gotten onto that topic, but they didn't talk about it long. Their food came and both of them quieted for a moment, eating. Tonks had thought, when she recalled the few parts of the previous night she could remember, that the alcohol was what had made the pair of them so ADD conversation-wise. Apparently they were just naturally like that.

"So how many of these places does Lee own?" Luna asked.

"Seven," Tonks said. "He's got four restaurants—this place, Clover, Double L, and The Giant Squid—"

"Really?" Luna asked, amused.

"Yeah," Tonks laughed. "George suggested it and the name stuck."

"Nice. What do the double Ls stand for?"

"Lee's London," Tonks said, smirking. "Again, we have the twins to blame for the name. It was the last one to open and one of them made a joke about him taking over London. So that name stuck as well."

Luna chuckled. "You said seven places? What are the other three?"

"Well, Krisp obviously, and then Playhouse and Arco Lounge."

"I've been to both of those," Luna said. "I didn't know Lee owned them."

"Krisp is his favorite haunt," Tonks explained. "It's his first and Fred's favorite, so he sticks around there."

"Are they dating?"

"Well, they say they're not," Tonks said, smiling. "But who knows."

They chatted and ate, time whizzing past. Finally, after Tonks had paid (she might have accepted the date reluctantly, but that wasn't going to stop her from being chivalrous), they left and walked through a nearby park.

"Want to go back to my place?" Luna asked. "I feel like watching a movie."

"How about we go to mine?" Tonks asked, taking her hand. "I happen to have a movie collection like you wouldn't believe." Tonks gave her a winning smile. She wasn't opposed to spending time at Luna's place, but if the night ended the way it had the night before, she wanted to be far away from Luna's closet of wonders….

"Alright," Luna said. "Hope you've got some good horror flicks."

"Oh god…." Tonks said, smiling as she and Luna Disapparated.

**_LbN: Hope you liked it! Sorry this chapter was kind of boring :). Send reviews! Oh, and one other thing, after next week the updates should start coming faster. This is for two reasons: 1) the semester's ending so I'll have more time and 2) I just read "Master" by AkashaTheKitty and am going to write a sequel for it. Since I have an aversion to having too many stories open at once, that means I'll be working extra hard to get this and "Time of Dying" finished. Peace out!_**


	5. Out of Breath

**All I Know of Love**

Tonks burrowed into her bed and tapped her bedside lamp with her wand. She opened her book, but couldn't concentrate—she was too tired. Yawning, she turned off the light and tossed her book onto the table. She closed her eyes, thinking over her week. On top of field testing at work, babysitting for Hermione in the afternoon Tuesday and Thursday, and rewriting and entire strategy booklet that some underling had fucked up, she'd been out with Luna every night. Every night. To say she was tired would be a bit of an understatement. Despite her promise, Luna had become incurably clingy. Every day around three in the afternoon, Tonks would get an owl or Patronus asking what she wanted to do that night. There was a time when staying home on a Saturday night would be a deplorable thought to the metamorphmagus, but now this Saturday night, it was all she wanted to do.

There was a knock at the door. Tonks groaned and burrowed deeper into the blankets. "Please go away," she mumbled. Another knock came and she tossed her comforter aside. She slipped on some socks and walked quietly to the hall. Looking through the peephole in the door, she saw flaming red hair. "Fred, what the hell?" she whined, opening the door. "I was going to sleep!"

"Sleep?" he asked, looking down at his watch. "It's 8:30! Luna said you weren't feeling well, but I thought maybe you'd be up for dinner or something? Or I could make you some sou—"

"Wait, wait," Tonks said. "When did you talk to Luna?"

"Around closing time. She came by to give George a copy of the book she just finished, but I think she was looking for you too."

"I told her I was going home after work," Tonks said. "Why would she think I was at the store?"

"Maybe she thought you might have made a detour." Fred shrugged and sat on the couch.

"I can't take much more of this Fred," Tonks said. "It's like, when I'm with her, everything's good. We have fun, and I really like her—"

"How's the sex?" Fred interjected, grabbing some candy out of the bowl.

"Insane."

"Insane in a good way or bad way?"

"Well, Monday through Wednesday this week it was in a good way, but by Thursday I was tired of sex in general. Especially kinky shit."

"LUNA'S A CLOSET KINK?" Fred asked, choking on a Chewy Runtz.

"You have no idea. But look, I need to—"

"Say no more," Fred said, grinning at her. He stood up and stretched. "I'll let you get to sleep. Come by tomorrow afternoon. Mum's making brunch. I'm not sure what the main course is, but she promised George and Ginny lemon pudding."

"Wotcher," Tonks said, nodding.

As Fred was walking out of the flat, the pair heard a pop and looked to their left. Luna was standing there with a small pot.

"Luna?" Tonks said.

"I brought you soup," Luna said. "Hello, Fred."

"Hey there Luna," Fred said. "Just stopping by to check on our lady here. See you guys!" He vanished with a pop.

"Come on in, L," Tonks said, yawning.

"How are you feeling?" Luna asked, following her into the kitchen.

"Tired. Thanks for the soup."

"No problem. It's just chicken noodle. Do you want me to stay? I can take care of you."

"I'm alright. Maybe we can—"

"Well, what about tomorrow? I can come over and keep you company."

"Nah, I—"

"I have to work at St. Mungo's from 6 to 8, but I can come over after that. I'll—"

"Luna! Luna, listen, I'm okay. I'm just really tired, okay? I need a weekend to myself."

"But…we're dating. I'm your girlfriend. I'm supposed to take care of you."

"I'm a big girl," Tonks said, smiling. "I'll be okay."

"Then why was Fred over here?"

"He surprised me just like you." Tonks yawned again. "I'll send you an owl tomorrow."

"Why won't you let me stay?"

"Luna, you're being clingy."

"I want to spend time with you!"

"We've been out together every night!"

"So?"

"So, can't we spend a little time apart? I'm tired, L! I just want to go to sleep tonight."

"I don't want to spend time apart."

"Remember how you promised not to get clingy?"

"I'm not! Clingy is me skiving off work to sneak over here and bake cookies for you while you're out training."

Tonks stared at her, getting a horrible feeling that this was about to happen. Possibly Monday. "Luna, tell you what, let me have this weekend to myself and I'll take you to lunch on Monday. Wherever you want. Deal?"

"Okay," Luna said, nodding. "I'll see you on Monday." She stood on her tiptoes and gave Tonks a kiss. "Have a good night."

"Night, L," Tonks said.

* * *

"Thanks for brunch, Molly," Tonks said, hugging her. "It was great."

"It's no trouble, dear. Take some food with you?"

"Maybe just a little," Tonks said, smiling.

"Hold on, I'll fix you a plate."

Fifteen minutes later, Tonks was tapping the door to her flat. It opened with a click and Tonks jumped back. "Luna! Jesus, you scared me! What are you doing here?"

"Thought you wanted the weekend to yourself?" she asked, pointing to a plate of cookies by way of explanation. "I brought these for you. I figured you'd want something sweet for you relaxing weekend. Where were you?"

"Luna, we've seriously got to talk."

"About what? The fact that you don't want to be with me at all?"

"I can't do this anymore, Luna. We've spent less than a day apart and you're acting like you can't handle it. Look," she said, leading Luna to the couch. "I like you. I have… so much fun when I'm with you. But you're like… a triple fudge sundae with sprinkles, marshmallows, caramel chunks and cherries—super sweet, but I can't handle you every night."

Luna laughed. "Why do I get the feeling there's a dirty joke hidden in that last sentence?"

"Hidden?" Tonks said, smirking. "Listen—"

"I get it. Don't worry. I know how I get, but I really don't mean to."

"I know, but you know I just got out of a relationship. I just think it's a little soon…. Alright?"

"Alright. But if you ever want a night just to relax, you know where to find me."


	6. In the Game Again

**All I Know of Love**

_**6 Months Later**_

"Whatson, that's completely insane!" Tonks said, glaring at the head of the Auror training department. "They're in the new class and they've never done field work before! I know they're at the head of the class, but this is a bit ambitious."

"They'll be with Archie and Harry, and it's only recon," Whatson insisted.

"Yeah, recon on a potion trafficking ring that we've been stalking for three months now."

"It'll be contained, I promise. From the test scores they've gotten and the arena training they've been through, I think they deserve a little field work."

Tonks took a deep breath, looking from Whatson to the arena below. "Fine. Take care of my children," she said with a smirk. She went to the door and called to the students, "Oi, Duffy, Alice! My office!" She laughed as the other students catcalled at the pair as they walked up the stairs. "Whatson's got an assignment for you. He'll fill you in; I've got to go turn in some paperwork."

"Thanks Captain," they both said.

* * *

Tonks grabbed a couple of files from her desk, said, "Wotcher!" and left the office. She walked down the stairs, pausing only to throw a hex at one of the trainees who wasn't concentrating. She chuckled as the cursing recruit extinguish his robes with a jet of water from his wand. Down the corridor to the left were the three fireplaces that connected the training center to different areas of the Ministry. Stepping into the middle fireplace, Tonks slipped the papers into the inside pocket of her robes and said, "Administration!" Though she'd been doing it for years, Tonks had never quite mastered Floo landings. As always, she stumbled out of the fireplace, but a hand caught her.

"Careful, Nymphadora," a deep, amused voice said.

"Wotcher, Remus," Tonks said, glaring at him. "How are you?"

"Much better than last week," he said, smiling. "You?"

"Oh, you know," she said, grinning. "Causing chaos and mayhem with the students. After what I put them through, they should be fearless."

Remus laughed and pushed a file of papers into the mail slot of an office door.

"MLE reports?" Tonks asked.

"Indeed. Full moons are always bad for the Werewolf Protection Agency. People think they can get away with werewolf stalking under the pretense that they 'thought it was a real wolf.' Fortunately, this group was easier to collar. You've heard of the RWPS?"

"Real Wizards' Protection Squad," Tonks said, nodding. "Those nutters that think they're doing the Wizarding world a favor by hunting down vampires and werewolves and the like."

"Right. We've been trying to bring them in for a while now. That file was a write up of three big leaders in the group."

"Oh, brilliant!" Tonks said, smiling brightly. "Good on you, Remus!"

"Thanks," he gave a small grin. "Are you busy this afternoon? We should grab coffee, catch up a bit."

"Sounds good. I just have to turn these in to my supervisor and then I'm free. The trainees have the afternoon off, so I don't have to hang around."

"Great, I'll wait for you."

* * *

"Remus?" Fred yelped. He fumbled the plastic jar of Jelly Slugs he was opening for Annabelle and Ronnie. They were in Fred's flat babysitting until Ron and Hermione got back from their date. He picked up the jar and gave the lid another twist. As he picked out two red and two green sweets, he asked, "He just, asked you out? That's bold for Remus."

"Well, we were having coffee and it was going well, so I guess he just felt comfortable asking me. He's always been able to talk to me."

"Just…take things slow, okay?" Fred said quietly. "Oi, you two, come get your candies!" He handed the green slugs to Annabelle and the red ones to her brother. Once the children had thanked them and rushed back to their game, Fred continued his train of thought. "You haven't been in a relationship since when? Luna?"

"Right. Don't worry, Fred. It'll be fine. Plus it'll be good to be dating again, you know? How are you and Lee?" Tonks asked with a smirk.

"We're not dating!" Fred insisted.

"So George was lying when he told me you two had been out every night this past weekend? Once until three in the morning?"

"He owns nightclubs! He wanted to close!"

"Oh, I bet he di—"

"Tonks! Ronnie's poking me!" Annabelle cried from the living room.

"Well poke him back!" Tonks said. "Why do you two deny it?" she asked Fred.

"There's nothing to deny," Fred said with dignity. He began scrubbing the cheese off the dinner plates.

"Whatever you say, Weasley."

* * *

Tonks stopped by the door to her office and tacked up the two pictures the twins had drawn the night before. One was of her shooting a spell out of her wand, and the other was of her and Fred playing Gobstones (the game had gotten quite heated, much to the children's amusement). When she walked in, she gasped, and backed up to check the nameplate outside of the office. Yep, she was in the right one. A dozen purple and silver roses (no doubt from Neville's Plant Emporium) stood in a vase on her desk. She picked up the envelope and read:

_**Hi there Nymphadora,**_

_**I went to visit Neville yesterday, and thought you might like some flowers. The purple and silver reminded me of you. Can't wait for our date tomorrow night. Hope your day is pleasant!**_

_**Yours, Remus**_

Tonks could feel her eyes and hair changing to match the flowers. She smiled and rolled her eyes at his stubborn use of her first name. She slid the vase to the side and set the card against it. Pulling some of her paperwork toward her, she glanced at the flowers again and smiled.


	7. In Too Deep

**All I Know of Love**

Tonks walked into the kitchen of the Burrow and poured herself a glass of water. They had been playing football, but Tonks had asked for a sub on the basis that she was old and tired.

"Doing okay?" someone asked.

"Wotcher, Ginny," Tonks said, nodding. "Just needed a break."

"So how're things going with Remus?" Ginny asked, hopping onto the counter.

"We're fine," Tonks said. "We've only been on a couple of dates, but so far it's been good."

"Cool," Ginny said, reaching over her to grab a glass. "Well, Mum sent me inside to get her a drink, so I should probably get back to her."

"Yeah," Tonks chuckled. "I'm coming too."

* * *

Tonks entered her flat and summoned the mail. Flinging herself down on the couch, she sorted through it. "Junk, junk, junk, bill, junk, bill, PAYCHECK!" she said, brightening. "Junk, bill, Prophet subscription, Remus," she sat up and opened the letter.

_**Hello Nymphadora,**_

_**I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Will you join me for coffee on Wednesday? **_

_**~Remus**_

Tonks chuckled at how formal he sounded. His refusal to find another nickname for her was getting annoying though. She smiled and grabbed some parchment and a pen from the table to write him back.

* * *

"Wotcher, Remus!" Tonks said, trying to catch her breath. She slid into the booth at the café and smiled, running a hand through her hair to get it under control.

"Morning, Nymphadora," Remus said. "Harassed this early?"

"I've been at work since…six this morning. Getting ready for the big day! Well, my students' big day that is."

"What are they doing?"

"It's their first field test as a class!" Tonks said, knowing she was far more excited than most of the students. "Whatson and I split them into two groups and take them on a real mission. Some of them have been on recon before, but this is the real deal."

"What's your mission?"

"Taking down some potion traffickers. I'm just there to cover their asses, they do all the work."

"When are you going to get out of the spotlight?" Remus asked. "This job really is dangerous."

"I'm not in the spotlight," Tonks said. "Like I said, they do all the work. I'm just there to make sure no one dies. And of course, to make the actual arrest."

"How big is the team you're taking?" Remus asked, still sounding worried.

"Three trainees and me."

"THAT'S IT?"

"Don't worry," Tonks said, chuckling. "I have been an Auror for five years. That includes a war."

"I know. I just wish you wouldn't. You can't find anyone to go instead of you?"

"Even if I could, I wouldn't. I love taking my kids out. I get to watch them put all their training into practice. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Remus said nothing to that.

* * *

"What's wrong, Fred?" Tonks asked, sitting down on his couch.

"I don't know what to do," he mumbled.

"About what?" Tonks asked, putting an arm around his shoulders.

"I don't know how to help him. Lee," Fred added. "I have to tell you something, but you have to swear you won't tell anyone else. It's important."

"I won't tell," Tonks said softly. "Talk to me."

"Lee and I…we're together. We have been for a while. We can't let anyone know, though."

"Why not?"

"Lee's dad. He was the one who gave Lee the money to start his chain of clubs and restaurants. He made Lee promise to pay him back, and Lee has been in stages. But his dad…well, he's not cool with the whole gay thing. He let Lee know that if he, quote, "Ever pulled any gay shit," the money would stop."

"So what? Lee's got an empire, he'll be fine."

"Not that simple. We think his dad might have a hunch that Lee's gay, because he told him he'd sue for the rest of the money if Lee ever tried that shit. Again, that's a direct quote. The problem is that since Lee's in the public eye so much, people are already kind of talking. Lee's doing well, but he can't pay his dad back all at once. Especially since his dad started adding interest. "

"Jesus…." Tonks stayed quiet for a moment. "I think I have an idea. I'm going to talk to Lee, alright? I'll send you an owl tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright."

* * *

Tonks walked up the stairs to her flat, thinking through everything Fred had told her. She barely noticed someone standing in front of her door. "Wotcher, Remus," she said, startled.

"Where were you?" he asked.

"Did we have a date?" Tonks asked, racking her brain for something she'd missed.

"No, but I wanted to see you."

"Well, I do have a life Remus," Tonks said, only half kidding. "I'm not always at the flat."

"So where were you?"

"I went over to Fred's place. He needed to talk."

"About what?"

Tonks paused for a second. "I can't tell you that. It was personal."

"He couldn't meet you somewhere? Why did it have to be at his flat?"

"Because…Look, I'll tell you tomorrow evening okay? By then this should have all resolved itself."

"What if I'm not around tomorrow evening? What if I have to go see one of my friends?"

"Well, alright," Tonks said, wondering why he was freaking out about this. "That's fine. I'll owl you if you're not up to meeting me."

"You don't get it!"

"You're right, I don't. I'm quite confused actually. What's wrong with you?"

"Yeah," he said, throwing his hands up. "It's always me. I'm the one with the problem."

"Remus, it's been a long day. I can't do this right now."

"I can't do this anymore. We're done."

"What the hell? Where is this coming from?"

"You sneak around with random guys—"

"I was at Fred's! He's not a random guy! He's my best friend and he was depressed!"

"You put yourself in danger—"

"I'm an Auror! It's not like this is a new development! You can't keep me barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen if that's what you're wanting."

"I'm done." Remus Disapparated on the spot.

Tonks let out an angry growl and kicked the door open. "This week sucks."


	8. Taking Chances

**All I Know of Love**

Tonks grinned at Lee and Fred.

"Let me get this straight," Fred said. "The great plan the pair of you came up with is a coming out party?"

"Not just any coming out party," Tonks said. "This party would make Ellen Degeneres jealous."

"Who?" Lee and Fred asked.

"Never mind. Here's what we've got: Lee and I spent the morning crunching numbers if you will. The gist of it is, whenever Lee throws an event at one of his clubs, turnout is massive."

"Massive to the point where we have to move people in and out in shifts," Lee said.

"So we did some hardcore math work and figured that if we have a massive, two-club wide blow out, we'll make around 13000 Galleons- worst case scenario, and 20000- best case."

"How do you figure that?" Fred asked. "You've got—"

"Cover charge is 10 Galleons per person, then they pay for drinks—"

"I make a killing at the bars anyway," Lee said.

"I talked to a friend over at the Rainbow Wizards' Coalition, and he said he could get catering for us. We've got to donate ten percent, which we've factored in already. Going with the 13000 figure, that would leave Lee with 11700. After paying the staff, that'll be 10200."

"That's enough to pay off my dad and still have some left over," Lee said, giving Fred a kiss.

"Crowd control?"

"Again, sticking with the 13000 figure," Lee said. "We'd be able to have 500 people in each club at once. Max capacity is 750, I think, but we'll have the bouncers keep an eye on it to make sure things don't get too crazy. We'll have the parties at Krisp and Playhouse; Arco will be closed for the night so all my staff can be on hand."

"Security wise," Tonks said, unrolling a large sheet of parchment. "We'll make it so no one can Apparate directly into the club. We'll have Apparation points that don't interfere with the line here," she pointed to the diagram on the parchment. "And here. Two bouncers at both doors, and the rest will be strategically placed inside."

"You guys do good work," Fred told them, grinning. "What's our Plan B? Do we have one?"

"Nope," both of them said.

"We're praying this party's off the hook," Tonks said.

"Ooh!" Lee said. "We forgot one thing!"

"What?" Fred said.

"The party's a masquerade!"

"I thought you weren't into theme parties?"

"Tonks begged."

Tonks grinned at the two men. "I did. I love masquerades."

"You should take—" Fred began.

"Stop. I'm done with dating, so don't even finish that thought."

"No you're not. You're just a big chicken," Lee said, grinning at her.

"Even Lee knows you like her! Just admit it!" Fred said.

"Nothing to admit…"

"And to think, Lee. We took her into our confidence and she can't even cop to something so bloody obvious…"

"It's a sad world we live in, Fred love."

"Fine!" Tonks said. "I like her, okay! It's not like she feels the same way…"

"You don't know that!" Fred interjected.

"Plus, I'm what? Eight years older than her?"

"Seven and some change."

"I thought older brothers were supposed to be all overprotective of their little sisters."

"It's you we're talking about, Tonks," Fred said, shrugging. "You're not some seventh year Ravenclaw trying to pick up second year Hufflepuffs or something. You're not a sleaze bag, and you'll treat her better than all the boyfriends and girlfriends she's had up to this point."

"Don't invite her," Lee said.

"Huh?" the other two said, turning to him.

"Just… meet up with her that night. See how things turn out."

Tonks looked at the pair of them for a long moment. Then, realizing defeat, she nodded.

* * *

Music pumped through the speakers as Tonks made her way through the crowd. They had blown past success in the first hour and a half, and were now enjoying the feeling of smug satisfaction. People had shown up in droves for Lee's party. On the stage behind the DJ was a WizardCast of the other half. Each club had one of these so people could check out what they were missing. From what Tonks could tell, Playhouse had a bigger crowd so far.

Tonks rounded the corner when she heard her name. Turning around, she saw a girl coming toward her. The girl was wearing a black corset dress, inlayed with silver designs, and a mask to match; but the flaming red hair was a dead giveaway. "Wotcher, Ginny. How'd you know it was me?" Tonks asked above the music.

"Your hair is changing colors with the strobe lights!" Ginny yelled. "I have to tell you something!"

"What?" Tonks asked. Before she knew what was happening, Ginny had lifted both their masks, pulled Tonks close and kissed her.

Wearing the cheekiest grin Tonks had ever seen, Ginny said, "Fred told me you going to debate asking me out all night, so I thought I'd make it easier on the pair of us." She lowered her mask again as Tonks laughed.

"Well that does make things easier…." she said.

"Would you like to dance, Ms. Tonks?"

"Lead the way, Ms. Weasley," Tonks said, lowering her own mask. She took Ginny's hand and followed her onto the dance floor. For the rest of the night, her hair was bright pink.


	9. Taking Time

**All I Know of Love**

Tonks took her safety goggles off and eyed the room with satisfaction. Targets lay smoldering, half hidden behind destroyed furniture. The wardrobe groaned piteously before it collapsed in on itself. She ducked as a bit of ceiling fell. It was sagging, and Tonks was a bit worried about the structural integrity of the left wall. She pushed the door open carefully and walked into the main arena. She smiled at her flabbergasted class and, without saying anything, walked upstairs to her office. She registered the voice before she fully registered who all was in the room.

"What did that poor room do to you?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, I thought you said the Ministry just paid for that special room," Fred added.

"State of the art technology, new "hard to detect, hiding" targets, shape changing furniture. Wasn't that it?" Lee asked, grinning. "And you utterly demolished it in…" He looked at his watch. "Under seven minutes."

"Nothing," she said to Ginny. "Yes," she said, looking at Fred. "And yes," she told Lee. "But one of the trainees through a tantrum and I had to set them straight."

"What happened," Ginny asked, hugging her.

"They got burnt out; started whining about how we teachers just yell and criticize and have never, quote, 'proven' ourselves to them. And since the entire class was tired and grumpy, they all went along with the flawed logic that I couldn't be that great in the training rooms either, since they're different than being on the field. Anyway, what are you guys doing here?"

"We've come to kidnap you!" Ginny said, grinning.

"We've got lots of things to celebrate," Lee said. "Me winning the Wizengamot trial against my dad, your birthday, and…." He trailed off, looking over at Ginny.

"Say hello to St. Mungo's newest Healer!" Ginny said, showing Tonks a patch on the sleeve of her robes.

"Holy Remembralls!" Tonks yelped. She hugged Ginny again. "That's great! Where are we going?"

"Well, right now we're going cake shopping. A little later the rest of the Weasleys are going to join us at Playhouse for a party! I invited a few other people too. Dean, Dennis, Seamus is back in town for a few days and he said he'd stop by. The club will be open, so other people might come too."

"Cool," Tonks said. "Er…just let me change clothes before we go. I smell like fire."

* * *

"That's one St. Mungo's cake, one color-changing cake, and one fancy chocolate cake," the cashier said. "That'll be…50 Galleons."

The group pooled their money and grabbed the cakes from the counter. "Thanks," Fred said. "Alright, we've got about an hour and a half to set up before people get there."

"Everything's there already except us and the cakes," Lee told him.

Tonks wasn't paying attention. Something had just caught her eye. "Hey, take my cake," she said, handing it to Lee. "I'll catch up with you guys."

"Uh-oh," Ginny said. "Why do I get the feeling you're about to arrest someone?"

"To serve and protect!" Tonks said, laughing. "No, I'm not arresting anyone. At least, I don't think so. Don't worry, I'll meet you at Playhouse." She leaned in and gave Ginny a kiss on the cheek.

"Alright. Don't get blown up," Ginny said.

Tonks laughed and walked behind them for a little bit until they came to a bookshop. "See ya," she said, ducking into it. She waved at the witch at the register before exiting again out of the side door. When she entered the alley, a witch and a wizard went flying. "_Levicorpus!_" she thought, and both were hoisted into the air by their ankles. "Roberts? Jenkins? What the hell you two?" Tonks asked, laughing.

"Ahhhhhhh!" the wizard yelped.

"Come on, Captain, let us down!" the witch said, turning red.

"Not until you tell me why you're following me. Roberts," she said, going over to the boy. "Anything to say?"

"We just…wanted…to apologize for…being brats today," Roberts said, panting and trying to right himself.

"What's Auror Unwritten Rule #29? Don't lie unless you can get away with it. Try again."

"Just…tell her," Jenkins yelped.

"The class…wanted…to know…"

Tonks flicked her wand and the pair went flying to the ground.

"We had a…er…well, a bet going," Jenkins explained, rubbing her head. "We were trying to find out if you're really gay."

Tonks fell against the grimy brick wall laughing. "Well technically I'm bi…You couldn't just _ask_ me? Who won?"

"Me, Jameson, Keller, O'Keife and Shane."

"Get back to the dorms, you two," Tonks said, laughing. She Disapparated and landed in front of Playhouse.

"Hey Tonks," Fred called from where he was hanging new event signs. "Everything okay?"

"Yep," Tonks said, chuckling. "Where's Ginny?"

"Inside, arguing with Lee over music."

"Wotcher," Tonks said, going inside. She made her way over to the stage and wrapped her arms around Ginny. "It was just my kids."

"What did they want?"

"Proof that I'm gay."

"What?" Ginny and Lee said in unison.

"Apparently there was a bet on my sexuality."

"Kids these days," Lee said.

* * *

"Happy birthday," Ginny said, giving Tonks a kiss. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?" Tonks asked, taking Ginny's hand.

"Just out to the garden," Ginny said. "I got you a present, but I don't want to have to yell over the music to talk to you."

They made their way through the small crowd and into the garden. Ginny raised her wand and Summoned a gift from Lee's office.

"You didn't have to get me anything," Tonks said, blushing.

"Sure I did. Open it."

Tonks removed the wrapping paper, looked into the box, and squealed like a five-year-old girl. "HOW?" She took the book out of the box and looked at it. She hugged Ginny, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"I'm glad you like it," Ginny said, laughing. "Now let go, you're suffocating me."

"Sorry," Tonks said, grinning. "But how? _Defenders of the Welsh Witch Hunt_ doesn't come out until next July, so how did you get the accompanying defense manual this early?"

"Magic," Ginny said.


	10. Epilogue

**All I Know of Love**

_**1 Year Later**_

"Ginny," Tonks whispered, shifting uncomfortably on the couch.

"Ehrrrm?" Ginny murmured, snuggling closer.

Tonks stretched as best she could with Ginny wrapped around her like a sloth. She looked at her watch and wiped her eyes. "It's past midnight. If you're staying we should move to something that's actually built for two people. Do you have to work tomorrow?"

"Not until the afternoon. Wanna sleep," she said, yawning.

Tonks scooped Ginny up and carried her into the bedroom. Once she'd settled them both into bed, she lay staring at the ceiling.

"Can't you sleep?" Ginny asked.

"No."

"I told you not to eat all that chocolate before bed."

Tonks laughed. She could feel Ginny smiling into her shoulder. "Hey Ginny?" she said.

"Hmmm?"

"Have you seen Malfoy or Harry lately?"

"No," Ginny said, looking up at her. "Why?"

"Harry quit at the Ministry. There's a wild rumor going around that he and Malfoy moved to Germany. I hope so, because something tells me if they were here, they'd want to gate-crash the wedding. And I'm not paying for their stay in Ireland."

"Mmmm…." Ginny said. Then, when Tonks' words hit her… "Wait, what?"

"Do you not remember our dinner conversation last night?" Tonks said, chuckling. "I spent half of it on one knee."

"Yeah, I know that part. Ireland, however, is a new development."

"My mum sent me a letter about all the castles over there. I found one that's gorgeous; I thought it would be good for the wedding. Plus, then we'd already be on location for our honeymoon."

"Mmmm," Ginny said, snuggling against Tonks again. "Well, talk to me about it when I'm fully awake."

Tonks chuckled and hugged her fiancé closer. "Sounds good," she said, kissing Ginny's head. "Night, Ginny."

"Night, Tonks."

_You are all I know of love  
How could I ask for more  
You're everything I'm dreaming of  
You're all I need from love  
And every star above  
Spells out your name  
I swear I'll always feel the same  
You're all I want from love_

_

* * *

**LbN: Hope you liked it! Send reviews!**  
_


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